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Irishlass wrote::?: I am recently diagnosed with MS. I am trying to get a handle on what supplements and vitamins I should be taking on a daily basis. There is so much to digest.

So far, the following few stand out throughout my reading. Can you help me with a base list of essential supplements/vitamins and appropriate dosage???

Cod Live Oil OR Salmon Oil

These are not equivalent. Cod liver oil has a relatively low quantity of omega-3 fatty acids in it, 67 mg combined EPA+DHA per 500 mg. However, it does contain quite a bit of vitamin A and some vitamin D, 1250 IU and 130 IU per 500 mg respectively. If what you're after are omega-3 fats then you would probably do better with fish body oil supplements. I recently cut my cod liver oil down from two 500 mg capsules per day to just one per day after reading that too much vitamin A can be harmful. It was recommended to keep vitamin A below 2500 IU per day max. With two capsules I was already getting that and probably exceeding it with vitamin A found in my general diet. I also bumped up my fish body oil intake to about 5 grams per day. Note that the vitamin content in most fish body oil supplements is negligible.

Even though Mg is by far the least abundant serum electrolyte, it is extremely important for the metabolism of Ca, K, P, Zn, Cu, Fe, Na, Pb, Cd, HCl, acetylcholine, and nitric oxide (NO), for many enzymes, for the intracellular homeostasis and for activation of thiamine and therefore, for a very wide gamut of crucial body functions. Unfortunately, Mg absorption and elimination depend on a very large number of variables, at least one of which often goes awry, leading to a Mg deficiency that can present with many signs and symptoms. Mg absorption requires plenty of Mg in the diet, Se, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and vitamins B6 and D. Furthermore, it is hindered by excess fat. On the other hand, Mg levels are decreased by excess ethanol, salt, phosphoric acid (sodas) and coffee intake, by profuse sweating, by intense, prolonged stress, by excessive menstruation and vaginal flux, by diuretics and other drugs and by certain parasites (pinworms). The very small probability that all the variables affecting Mg levels will behave favorably, results in a high probability of a gradually intensifying Mg deficiency. It is highly regrettable that the deficiency of such an inexpensive, low-toxicity nutrient result in diseases that cause incalculable suffering and expense throughout the world. The range of pathologies associated with Mg deficiency is staggering: hypertension (cardiovascular disease, kidney and liver damage, etc.), peroxynitrite damage (migraine, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, Alzheimer's disease, etc.), recurrent bacterial infection due to low levels of nitric oxide in the cavities (sinuses, vagina, middle ear, lungs, throat, etc.), fungal infections due to a depressed immune system, thiamine deactivation (low gastric acid, behavioral disorders, etc.), premenstrual syndrome, Ca deficiency (osteoporosis, hypertension, mood swings, etc.), tooth cavities, hearing loss, diabetes type II, cramps, muscle weakness, impotence (lack of NO), aggression (lack of NO), fibromas, K deficiency (arrhythmia, hypertension, some forms of cancer), Fe accumulation, etc. Finally, because there are so many variables involved in the Mg metabolism, evaluating the effect of Mg in many diseases has frustrated many researchers who have simply tried supplementation with Mg, without undertaking the task of ensuring its absorption and preventing excessive elimination, rendering the study of Mg deficiency much more difficult than for most other nutrients.

I did a web site on what I do for MS since I've never taken any meds. I think we need to do more, though, than just take some supplements.

Here's a link to my site. It includes information on the supplements I take. See the tab on my plan.

By the way, I think vitamin E supplements should be avoided because the research showed they are correlated with an increased rate of fatal heart attacks. I get my vitamin E by eating raw sunflower seeds--they are a great source of lineleic acid (a fat) recommended by the National Hearlth Service in the United Kingdom as well as lots of other good stuff.

Also, I think most of us need at least 4,000 IU of vitamin D. This does vary but most of us don't get any sun so with only 2,000 IU the blood level of vitamin D will stay at the low end of the normal range usually. At 4,000 IU, it usually hovers around the high end of the normal range.

A good doctor can order tests of your blood level of Vitamin D and help you figure out the dose that will keep you at the high end of the normal range. That's where you want to be since that level, the research suggests, reduces both the number of lesions and relapses.

But ndwannabe:
Time release is NOT good to take, because it can harm the liver--but flush free works great for most of the thing pure niacin works on, except not for reducing cholesterol. It would help with MS same as pure niacin, because the flushing aspect is not the thing that protects the nerves.

shye wrote:But ndwannabe:Time release is NOT good to take, because it can harm the liver--but flush free works great for most of the thing pure niacin works on, except not for reducing cholesterol. It would help with MS same as pure niacin, because the flushing aspect is not the thing that protects the nerves.

True that flushing is not what protects the nerves, bur flushing is what opens the small capillaries and helps the circulation. Why not use this benefit as well?

– whichever dose will produce a strong body flush. Niacin dilates the blood vessels, even those that have been compressed by scar tissue, allowing a greater amount of nutrient material to reach the cell laboratory or factor comprising muscles and nerves. This constant, repeated dilatation of the blood vessels acts in the same manner as the dilating urethral catheter to correct constriction. One is chemical, the other is mechanical. Hot fluids taken at the same time as the niacin will enhance the flush

@rebecca
i also eat sunflower seeds and use sunflower oil - and my vitamin e supplement is natural ratio E8 complex with four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. my current one has sunflower oil in it, and i've seen a pricier one with soy and sunflower.
studies that have shown harmful effects of vit E supplementation have, from what i've read, tended to isolate alpha tocopherol, and beyond that to use an artificial synthetic form.
artificial vitamin E does not absorb nearly as well as natural vitamin E, and besides, from what i understand, synthetic vit E is made from petroleum byproducts. interesting.

i completely agree about doing more than supplements. if i sit here at the computer all day i'll be walking funny when i get up at the end of it. luckily i have set myself physical challenges since dx so that now i have accomplished more than i probably would have without getting sick. the book dancing with ms by eva marsh is very much about retraining your body after relapse.

@ndwannabe:
agree re niacin. there is more to it than neuroprotection - the flush is key. the klenner protocol really helped me, even though it has nothing about vitamin d3

in the literature 4000IU is considered maintenance daily intake. the supplement amount depends on your estimated dietary intake and whether you are interested in maintenance, or boosting, or have other considerations to take into account.

for me, 4000IU was not enough at the outset because i wanted my level to be 50 nmol/L higher.

now, approx 4000IU/d is roughly adequate to keep me around 123 nmol/L according to the latest test. that's at 25,000IU in one drop on the weekend, and a few hundred IU each day through the week in gelcaps with cal mag etc, plus a bit in fortified organic milk and some carefully chosen fish.

i am not sure if there is soy in my liquid d3 supplement. i don't know who the supplier is but i got it from a compounding pharmacist and it's 1,000,000 IU/gm. you don't need a prescription when they don't do anything to it except put it in a bottle for you.

i'd have to search back to see how much i paid but i'm thinking something in the $30s, and at a drop a week it lasts forever. must be refrigerated. shelf life is supposed to be 3 months once you dilute it in oil, i don't have shelf life info for the undiluted product but i've had this bottle for almost a year and a half, and it's still working if my lab results are any guide

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